When I woke up last Monday, I noticed that I was having itchy throat and runny nose. I gargled with Betadine and drank loads of water. Incidentally, I planned to take a day off from work so I was able to rest the entire day. But after a few hours, I started coughing. And when I woke up the following day, headache started to kick in. I was feeling sluggish and my muscles felt sore. I decided to skip work to rest, but things elevated from bad to worse. The following day, I decided to go to a doctor. He confirmed what I already knew – it’s the infamous flu. According to him, he had been seeing patients for less than an hour and I was already his fourth patient with the same symptoms. Makikiuso na lang ako, sa sakit pa! Enebenemenyen! @_@

The doctor gave me Ambroxol to get rid of the phlegm and Meloxicam for body pains. He also asked me to drink more water. I told him that I do. I make sure to drink at least 10 glasses of water a day. But according to him, my lips are chapping so that only means that I am dehydrated.

As I was about to go to sleep last night, I threw up everything I ate!!! I had dinner before 7 PM, and everything went down the drain by 10:30 PM. The meds I took probably went with it (although my OB/GYN told me that meds usually dissolve 30 minutes after taking) because I could not get rid of the bitter taste in my mouth. I tried to wash it down with water and some sweet biscuits. But I threw up again after a few minutes. My husband told me that it probably means that my body is trying to get rid of the phlegm. Yes, I want it gone but not with everything I ate. I hated the feeling because I lost my appetite because of the flu, and I tried so hard to have anything fill my stomach as I need to take my meds. But then poof! Nag-ala merlion ang lola niyo!

I thought the worst was over. But I was dead wrong! Just when I was about to eat lunch earlier today, I threw up once again! Before you all suspect that I’m pregnant, I am 100% sure that I am not. Anyway, I could not bear to eat lunch so Papa went out to buy me lugaw. I have been eating soup and instant noodles for days so lugaw is a breath of fresh air! Fortunately, I was able to keep my lunch down. Whew! I still get occasional headaches. My nose is still clogged. And I still sound like a dude!!!

I am a sickly person. And I get more vulnerable when the weather suddenly shifts. But my health has dramatically improved compared to before. I eat fruits and vegetables regularly. I take my vitamins daily. I drink lots of water. I even have a glass of fresh buko juice daily. I wash my hands regularly. I started doing brisk walks for at least 30 minutes a day. I don’t drink and smoke. And I make sure that I get at least 7 hours of sleep. My symptoms appeared on Monday morning. I stayed at home the entire day on Sunday which only means that I was well-rested. (I went to an anticipated mass on Saturday night in case you think that God is probably punishing me for missing the Sunday mass. :p) So what did I do wrong? Maybe it’s just the flu season and I was just one of the unlucky “chosen ones”. Or I should probably consider getting a flu vaccine. This is not the first time that I was down with flu. But this is probably the worst kind I have ever experienced.

Although I love being pampered by my husband and my parents and staying in bed watching Food Network the whole day, I still wouldn’t trade my “healthy” days over these hellish sick days. I think I am better now because I started feeling something which I terribly missed – I’M FINALLY HUNGRY!!! :p